Love's Return
by Kat Lee formerly Pirate Turner
Summary: Alice and her Aunt Imogene both yearn for their Princes. Unbeknownest to Alice, Imogene's Prince truly does exist; only their story is different. Will either lady get the Prince of her heart? Crossover. Het.


Title: "Love's Return"  
Author: Pirate Turner  
Rating: G  
Summary: Alice and her Aunt Imogene both yearn for their Princes. Unbeknownest to Alice, Imogene's Prince truly does exist; only their story is different. Will either lady get the Prince of her heart?  
Warnings: Het, Crossover  
Word Count: 2,157  
Disclaimer: Alice, Mad Hatter, Imogene, Cheshire Cat, Wonderland, all other characters mentioned within, and Alice in Wonderland are & TM their respective owners, none of which are the author, and are used without permission. Everything else is & TM the author. The author makes absolutely no profit off of this work of fan fiction, and no copyright infringement is intended.

Imogene sat alone, her delicate hands folded peacefully in her lap as she waited. She had been waiting every day since her Prince had left her with a kiss and a promise. She reverently touched the ring he had given her the night before he'd left her at the King's beckoning as she heard once more his words within her head.

"I love you, Imogene. I don't know how I ever got so lucky to have ya love me back, but it's the best thing that's ever happened to me." He'd given a little snort then and remarked, "Heck, who knows? It might just be th' only good thing that's ever happened to me."

"I wish you would not speak so, beloved."

"I'm sorry," he'd told her sincerely and had lowered his head so she'd not see the tears glittering in his dark eyes, "but it's the truth."

She had lovingly cupped his deformed, but handsome to her eyes, face in her hands and stroked him tenderly. He had leaned into her touch as she had assured him, "That will change soon, my love, for when we are able to stay together, we will make scores of good moments to cherish as we grow old together."

Her Prince had smiled, cupped her face, and caressed her. Not one word had he spoken of his true age and the centuries that already separated them. "I will return," he had vowed, "just as soon as I can sneak away from the King and the duties His Impudent Majesty forces upon me again."

"I know," she had told him. He had kissed her, walked to the entrance of the forest, looked back at her one more time, and then vanished from her eyesight.

Imogene had been waiting for her Prince to return ever since. Every time she passed a pasture, the scent wafting on the breeze would cause her to stop in hope that the smell came from her Prince who was on his way to collect her, but thus far, he had not arrived. Today would be different, however. She knew he would come today for Alice had seen the White Rabbit for the second time today and, no doubt, fulfilled her destiny that had been foretold long before Imogene's own grandmother had even been considered.

Yes, today would be the day, Imogene thought as she straightened her gloves and dress. He would come for her today, and they would finally make all their dreams come true. Her family could laugh at her all they wanted. Even her own niece had scorned her after her latest adventure into the impossible.

Imogene remained sitting as still as a statue rather than shake her head at Alice's blindness. She had thought the girl might finally fully accept that nothing, no matter how absurd a dream it might seem, was impossible after her adventures in Wonderland. She had thought she might find a friend or at least acceptance in her, but she had only been disappointed again. No one would ever understand her - no one save her Prince, and it was only his understanding and love that really mattered to her.

A small, patient smile graced Imogene's thin lips. They would understand, she vowed. They would understand and know at last that she was not only a foolish old lady with crazy dreams when she disappeared. It would happen soon, she vowed, very soon. That was why she had stayed here when every one else had left. She knew he was coming; she could feel his approach in her heart, her bones, and her very soul. She had waited while every one else had either left or otherwise retired, sitting here at the verge of the forest that contained more secret doorways than could ever be traveled through by any one.

A breeze stirred the tables. A certain, disturbing - and yet, to Imogene, also delightful - scent came to her nose. Imogene's heart thundered as it leapt into her very ears. Her eyes flitted over her surroundings as she wondered from whence bush or tree her Prince would appear. She checked her appearance one last time.

The wind grew. Her heartbeat became a roar. She straightened to full attention and turned to look in the direction from whence the wind hailed. A smile burst onto her face as two tiny, black boots appeared at the bottom of a bush.

Imogene felt like laughing, crying, dancing, and screaming for joy all at once and realized that she had gone mad at last - mad from the greatest happiness she had ever felt before in all her life. He was coming! Her Prince was finally coming to take her away and to be his bride forever!

She gasped in delight when he walked out of the forest. He was barely four feet tall, and yet he was as large as life to the woman who loved him. "You've come! Oh, you've come at last!" Her whole body trembled as she fought to sit still. She knew it was completely against conformity for a lady to ever run.

"I've wanted to all along," her Prince declared as he hobbled forward. She could not tell yet if his gait was due to exhaustion or an injury. "I'm so sorry that wretched rat, Jareth, kept me away from ya for so long!"

He looked up at her with regret, remorse, hope, and love all shining clearly in his dark eyes, and she realized he'd been through a great ordeal since last they had seen each other. His poor face was badly bruised, and his nose looked like it had been broken. His eyes seemed to hold the exhaustion of centuries, but still he took her breath away.

"Ya waited for me! I was scared ya might not be here when he finally released me to claim my bride."

"Of course I waited!" she exclaimed. "I love you, Hoggle!"

The mere sound of her voice crying his name would have been enough to make the Dwarf burst into a smile, but her declaration of love made him soar. He no longer looked so old or tired as he ran to her, nearly stumbling over his short legs in his mad dash to reach the love of his life. The smile that shone on his withered face sparkled like the sun in all its glory. Then he tripped over a rock and started to fall . . .

Imogene was out of her chair and onto her feet in a flash. She raced to him, hiking her skirts up with one hand so she wouldn't fall too; reached him before he could hit the dirt; and lifted him into her arms. She hugged him tightly as their lips met in a passionate kiss. She whirled him around in her delight as they continued to kiss.

When at last their mouths parted, they remained adoringly gazing into each other's eyes. Both wanted to spend the rest of their lives just like that - held in one another's arms, gazing into each other's eyes, and seeing all the love that they possessed and would always only feel for each other.

But then, from deep within the forest, Hoggle heard an owl hoot. He cringed, but his boots no longer shook at the sound. He had everything he'd ever truly wanted at long last for he was loved by a wonderful woman, and with that love came just a tad bit of courage, not enough to ever make him be foolish enough to stand up to his King but enough to keep him from trembling from head to foot at the mere sound of his voice or name or the thought of him and to take pride, finally and for the first time in his long, mostly miserable life, in who and what he was.

He held to her soft hands as he jumped agilely to his booted feet. "We should go, my love," he told her as he continued to gaze up into her beautiful eyes. "Ya got all ya need?"

"I have all I could ever need or want in you, my sweet Prince."

His smile was so bright that it transformed his ugliness into cuteness. Hand in hand, Hoggle, the Prince of Stench, and Imogene, who would soon be crowned his Princess, hurried into the forest and through the open, magical doorway awaiting them. Their love had always been the stuff legends were made of, and together they would make their legend live long and prosperous and glow with the beauty and light that only true love can give.

* * *

A young, gawking woman slowly approached Imogene's table where an empty, white teacup still sat. She had snuck back after going home with her mother and had been quietly watching over her Aunt Imogene in great concern for the last several hours. She had warred over whether or not she should go to her but had decided against it for she had known it would do neither of them any good. Now Alice stared in disbelief at the point of the forest where her aunt and her Prince, who really did exist even if he was short and ugly, had disappeared. "He was real!" she breathed.

"Yes," purred a voice that made the blonde girl smile. A toothy grin slowly appeared in the air before her. "Doesn't that just tickle you?"

Alice gave a soft sigh. "The impossible is only impossible until the brave make it possible." Her blue eyes fell to the teacup, and she picked it up. "Oh, Cheshire, I miss him so much!"

"I know," Cheshire purred reassuringly.

"But does he?" Alice asked forlornly.

A pair of furry shoulders materialized below the grin; they shrugged. "I can not say for no one knows the ways of another man's heart save that man himself." Slowly the rest of the large, gray cat's body appeared. "But, Alice, if you miss him so, why not return?"

"I will," she vowed even as his paws touched her reassuringly. His long, bushy tail swished through the air as he studied her intently. Alice sighed. "I simply can not return yet, but I will."

"Why not if you love him so? And don't tell me you don't," Cheshire Cat purred musingly, "for I can see it in your eyes."

"I have duties here that I must fulfill first, Cheshire. Time passes differently in Wonderland than it does here, and it's harder to leave every time I go there. I have to make certain that my Mother is taken care of and that my father's work is completed; that's even more important to me than slaying the Jabberwocky to save you all . . . " She thought about her words and corrected herself slightly. " . . . all of us."

"Once I've done that, I'll return." Her blue eyes grew misty, and there was the sound of a breaking heart echoing in her sigh. "I only hope he'll still want me." She blushed and hurriedly clarified, "As a friend of course."

"Of course," purred the cat with a swish of his tail. His mischievous, green eyes gave her a wink as he rolled over onto his back. "He'll always want you, you know. He had already waited ten years. What's ten more?" He began to slowly vanish. "I'll tell him what you said. I'm sure he'll flutterwacker all day and probably all night too." He winked again before his eyes disappeared. His smile was the last to go, and it went with a deep, amused chuckle.

Alice stood alone. She ached to return to Wonderland and yearned to see the Hatter again more than she'd ever wanted for almost anything before in her entire life. Indeed there was only one thing more that she had ever wanted, and that was the return of her father. But that was impossible.

No, she corrected herself, she had to stop thinking like that about anything. Nothing was impossible when one worked, yearned, and believed that it could become possible. Who knew? Maybe, one day, her father would return to her like Absolem had in his new butterfly form.

She smiled sadly at that thought, and then her smile grew as she thought of how Hatter would be waiting for her and that her aunt was finally happy with her Prince. One day, Alice thought, one day, she, too, would disappear to live the rest of her days with the Prince of her heart, mad and wonderful as he was.

As Alice turned and walked away to embrace her destiny in this world, she only hoped that it wouldn't take another ten years before she was back in Wonderland and with Hatter again and that, when the time came, she'd be neither too big nor too little. Her smile became as huge as that of the cat she'd just spoken to at the image of her wonderful, beloved Hatter flutterwacking joyously. She would return for him - and soon.

**The End**

Author's Note: If you enjoyed this story, or any of my other writings, I hope you'll consider joining my friends and I at a brand new fan fic/art site called Ficcers Unite. At Ficcers Unite, we welcome all fandoms, pairings (slash and het), and even no pairings at all; hope to begin a Marvel/Disney RPG soon; and plan on issuing challenges every day of the week! We currently only have one day when a new challenge is not posted and hope to fill that position soon. Charmed challenges are posted on Thursdays and last the week (as do all the other challenges too). Come on over and check us out at today!


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